Appreciation For Arts
It´s that time of the year again. The birthday of my wife, Judy Hopps. Her 27th one, and third one in this city in her new profession. It´s worth celebrating just like all her other birthdays. However, for this birthday I wanted to try something a little different besides an usual present. For my 35th birthday she did a special dance with a big cake for me too, so it was time I did something big and special for her. The belly dancer bunny had been busy with her recent work this week, so I had plenty of time to keep this big surprise a secret from her. I had been thinking what kind of surprise I´d do that I hadn´t done already. Then it hit me. A very special inspiration indeed. I remember back at school, one of the classes I got the best grades from was from my art class. I didn´t paint anything all that often, but when I did, others were impressed. Despite me being a predator, even the prey mammals gave me the props for my work then. Maybe artistry is in the blood of us foxes. Whether it´s my father´s amazing tailoring at Suit-topia or Gideon´s high quality pastries, there comes a time when we get to use our artistic tendencies for something special. It was time I returned to painting for this occasion. It took several days to complete my work and a huge amount of paint. I used it about the same amount I used melted jumbo pop juice for pawpsicles back then. I used photos of her as well as her dance videos for reference. I didn´t want to ask her to be a model for that, because I wanted to surprise her. A sly fox like me loves nothing more than giving pleasant surprises to my loved one. Finally, it was ready. So much hard work had been put to it, and I was ready to show it to Judy. It was certainly worthy of someone like her. After tuning it a bit and getting it framed with Finnick´s help, I was bringing that, my other present and the traditional carrot cake for her to our palm tree apartment after work at late afternoon. I couldn´t wait to surprise my wife. Entering our apartment, I noticed that she was practicing her new dance choreography, judging by the loudly playing music there. I managed to sneak into our bedroom and hide my surprise with a cover for the right moment to reveal it. I really hoped she appreciated the hard work I put into this. I had never done anything this ambitious in art form as this before. Giftwrapping my other present and the cake, I headed carefully towards the rec room where she was practicing. From the way it looked, Judy was practicing new snake dance moves as Juju was slithering across her chest calmly. She had changed her traditional red belly dancer wear to an emerald green one to fit the scale color of her pet as she practiced dancing. “All right. That´s enough for now. You did great, mama´s proud of you”, she put the music down and lifted the snake peacefully back to his terrarium. Adjusting her golden crown-like headpiece, she smiled as he noticed my face from the reflection on it. “Nick! You´re home!” she turned towards me. “Happy birthday, Carrots!” I handed the first presents to her. Unwrapping them, the rabbit discovered a carrot cake as well as a beautiful golden snake wrap bracelet with purple gem eyes. “Oh, they´re wonderful! Thank you, Nick!” she was pleased. “And that´s not all. Come here and see”, I pointed at the bedroom, leading my darling wife there. “What is that?” Judy noticed the covered thing there. I went next to it and revealed the surprise dramatically. Judy gasped at what she saw. It was a gorgeous high-quality painting of her dancing beautifully in an enchanting dark red background. Everything about the rabbit´s appearance, costume and even expression was spot-on. I believe I had successfully captured the almost princess-like elegance of my favorite dancer there. “Did…did you paint this yourself? Wow, you´ve got some mad talent at painting” she couldn´t believe her eyes. She was almost moved the same way she was when Fru Fru mentioned naming her daughter after her. “Thank you, my sultry bunny muse. There are so many mammals in this city you inspire, including myself. Since the sheik had already done a sculpture in your honor, I figured out that I should do something like that, just for you”, I admitted. I had taken less time to make the painting than the old caracal had done with the sculpture, but the result was still even more gorgeous. “Oh Nick….you´re the sweetest thing in the whole city!” Judy hugged me tightly and nuzzled me with her bunny nose. “It was nothing, sweetheart. Fine art like your dancing just inspires fine art in return. Like an endless cycle”, I gave a tiny peck to her cheek and wagged my tail around her. “You´ve got a point. I don´t know how to thank you enough, darling”, Judy nodded. “Your happiness is enough. I´ll always make sure to make your birthdays that way”, I held her lovingly. It was yet another wonderful birthday surprise for Judy. As the belly dancer´s husband, I was good to my word in making her every birthday a pleasant experience. Soon, we spent the rest of the day together in their apartment as the new painting was placed on the wall of their living room. It fit there perfectly next to all her trophies and dance props. With Judy´s dancing and my devotion to do things like this, there was certainly an appreciation for arts between the Hopps couple. Category:Ara-Bunny Nights AU Category:Stories inspired by 1,001 Nights Category:Oneshots Category:WildeHopps stories Category:NickXJudy Category:Birthday stories Category:POV stories Category:Stories from Nick´s POV Category:Nick and Judy's married years